National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

For the 1989 sequel “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” most of the story is set in Chicago, Illinois, but production took place primarily in Burbank, California, with a few exteriors filmed in Chicago and Colorado.  The Griswold house is not a real house, rather a set on the Warner Bros. Ranch.  The ranch is located separate from the main Warner Bros. Studio lot and is unfortunately not open to public tours.  The house has since changed a bit, but still bears some resemblance.  The same house can be seen in “American Beauty,” “WandaVision,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Small Soldiers,” “Pleasantville” and more.

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LOCATION: 411 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505

Just next to the Griswold house is the neighbors’ house of Todd and Margo, played by Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  It too is a set, but of all the houses on the ranch, it has the most functional interior, having been used in many productions.  The house is mostly shown from side angles or close-ups, likely due to having been used in another popular film series at that time, “Lethal Weapon,” where it served as Danny Glover’s house.  Known as the Lindsay house, it has also appeared in “American Beauty,” “WandaVision,” The Three Stooges serials, “Pushing Daisies,” “The Middle” and many more.

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LOCATION: 411 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505

Clark flirts with an attractive woman working at a department store, before his son busts him.  This was filmed at Bullocks Wilshire, a famous art deco building on Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles.  Once a luxury department store, the building now operates as a law school.  The building is only seen from interior views in the film.  While the inside is typically closed to the public, there are occasional public tour opportunities.  The building has also been seen in the films “Mank,” “The Aviator,” “The Public Enemy” and “Dunston Checks In,” the TV series “Moonlighting” and Areosmith’s music video for “Love in an Elevator,” as well many other productions.

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LOCATION: 3050 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Later in the film, Clark fantasizes about the same department store woman, undressing at a pool in his back yard.  The pool is also located at the Warner Bros Ranch.  While it is located fairly close to the Griswold house, it’s actually on the opposite side of the street (known as Blondie St), not in back of the house as depicted in the film.  If not for the trees in the background of the photo below, you could see the Griswold house in the distance.

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LOCATION: 411 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505

Near the end of the film, Cousin Eddie, played by Randy Quaid, abducts Clark’s boss from his home after he stiffs his staff of their Christmas bonuses.  This was filmed at the Mattison Boyd Jones house in Glendale, California.  The house can be a bit tricky to see from the road, as the front of the property has a long fence with high shrubs and the driveway is gated.  However, from the right angle you can still catch a view.  Currently a private residence, the house has been seen in many television shows, primarily from the 70s and 80s, including “Flamingo Road,” “Columbo,” “Knight Rider” and “Emerald Point N.A.S.”

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LOCATION: 727 W Kenneth Rd, Glendale, CA 91202

Related articles: National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Seinfeld

Despite being famously set in New York, the exterior shot of Jerry’s apartment is actually located in Los Angeles, which is where the majority of the series was taped as well.

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LOCATION:  757 S New Hampshire Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005

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What can be seen in New York is the famous “Monk’s Cafe,” where Jerry and the gang were regulars throughout the series.  The restaurant is actually known as Tom’s Restaurant and can be found in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.  The show only used the restaurant for exterior shots.  The interior of Tom’s bears no resemblance to the Monk’s restaurant set from the show, although it does feature some Seinfeld photos along the walls.

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LOCATION: 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025

To celebrate the show’s arrival onto streaming services, Hulu did a pop-up exhibition in New York and Los Angeles in late 2015, recreating the interior of Jerry’s apartment.

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Jerry’s apartment, 5A.

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The inside door, where Kramer so frequently popped in.

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The kitchen.  Everything was recreated, from the Superman magnet to the cereal collection.

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The living room.

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The computer area.

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The kitchen table.

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The book shelf.

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The bathroom.

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The hallway.

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A recreation of Kramer’s photo studio, where he takes erotic photos of George.

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The stand-up comedy stage.

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The remainder of the photos are props from the show, starting with the famous restaurant booth.

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Puddy’s New Jersey Devils jersey.

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George’s sable hat, which Elaine buys on Peterman’s company account when she goes overboard with expensing personal items.

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The Bachman Pretzels container, from when Kramer gets cast in the Woody Allen film.  “These pretzels are making me thirsty.”

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The Superman figure.

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The script to the final episode, signed by the cast.

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The Frogger arcade machine.

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The pez dispenser.

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The Festivus pole.

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George’s pyramid, from when he visits the holistic healer.

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The Maestro’s wand.

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Bosco.

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The egg Kramer drops in Jerry’s kitchen, then blocks off with caution tape, rather than cleaning it up.

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The Tropic of Cancer book, which Jerry learns he is over 20 years overdue on returning to the library.

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The Junior Mints, as well as the photo of George’s boss, which gets botched when he attempts to erase himself out of the shot.

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The last supper painting.

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